The Gender Pay Debate

It is one of the most talked about things in tennis, should women be paid as much as men. In an age of equality, the answer is generally yes. Some do not agree. As seen in the latest edition of UK Tennis Magazine, a study by Insure4Sport showed that there was still a divide in views. To read this article, click here.

We have had a look at the stats to see how much of a pay divide there is. Out of the Top three men and women singles players, Mens #1 Rafa Nadal has earned the most at £5,132,929, and Women’s #1 Simona Halep has earned the second most at £4,191,952. It then goes Federer with £3,890,544, Wozniacki with £3,069,662, Zverev with £2,958,683 and then Stephens with £2,281,332. In terms of year earnings, its quite even. The biggest part of this debate however comes down to the Grand Slams. With the prize money identical for the ladies and the mens, is it far that the men play five sets and the women play three? If you look at the amount earned and time spent on court, those same top six end up like this;

Halep – £69,865 an hour

Nadal – £65,806 an hour

Federer – £51,191 an hour

Wozniacki – £47,963 an hour

Stephens – £45,626 an hour

Zverev – £40,529 an hour

Its interesting to see that Halep has actually earned the highest per hour, and Stephens has overtaken Zverev in 6th. Could it mean that eventhoug are the pay is even, the time spent on court isn’t. Remember as well the only main factor affecting the time is the grand slams, where the men play best of five, not best of three.